Points, Miles & Credit Cards

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture: Which $95 Annual Fee Card Should You Pick?

March 7, 2024

7 min read

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In life, we’re constantly asked to choose between two options, and that’s true when it comes to travel credit cards.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Card are two entry-level travel cards that are great for folks who want to start earning points and miles. How do you choose which one is right for you?

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Card

Let’s start with how the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Card similar.

Let’s start with how the card_name and card_name are similiar.

Each card carries an annual fee of annual_fees, which means the barrier to entry is relatively low.

In addition, both cards come with a foreign_transaction_fee foreign transaction fee, which means that you will not pay extra pesky fees when you use your card internationally. Instead, your credit card issuer converts the purchase into US dollars based on the exchange rate on the date of the transacation.

Both beginner cards earn points that transfer to a handful of airline and hotel partners. They also both come with nice welcome offers that can get you at least a head start toward a free flight.

Since the cost of holding the cards is equal, how do they compare? Which one is right for you?

Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture Rewards Card Compared
card_name	card_name

card_name	card_name
Annual fee
annual_fees	annual_fees
Foreign transaction fees
foreign_transaction_fee	foreign_transaction_fee
Earning rate
2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day. 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.	Earn 5X points per dollar spent on travel purchased through Chase Travel(SM). Earn 3X points per dollar spent on online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), dining at restaurants (including eligible delivery services, takeout, and dining out). Earn 3X select streaming services. Earn 2X points per dollar spent on all other eligible travel purchases (like airline tickets and hotel bills). Earn 1X point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
Welcome offer
bonus_miles_full	bonus_miles_full
Our take
The statement credit for the application fee to Global Entry or TSA PreCheck effectively erases this card's annual fee. Read our review	This card earns some of the most valuable transferrable credit card points available. The travel protections easily make up for the annual fee. Read our review
Card benefits
Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase-or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs	Points transfer 1:1 to airline and hotel travel partners 10% anniversary point bonus Annual $50 credit on hotel stays booked through Chase Travel(SM) Trip cancellation and interruption insurance (terms apply) Auto rental collision damage waiver (terms apply) Baggage delay insurance Purchase and extended warranty protection (terms apply) Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.

Earning points

I say this often but pay close attention to your card’s earning rates. While a welcome offer is exciting, the bonus points your card earns on your daily purchases will matter in the long term.

The card_name and card_name differ most when it comes to earning bonus points.

Capital One Venture Rewards Card

The card_name is quite simple: you’ll earn 2X points per dollar spent on all eligible purchases.

That’s it. Nothing else to think about.

Going to a football game? Buying tickets to a concert? This card will earn you 2X points on every purchase.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The card_name earns bonus points in several spending categories. The card’s sweet spots are in experiences like travel, food, and streaming services.

More specifically, you’ll earn:

2X points per dollar on travel purchases: This is a pretty capacious category and includes things like public transit and Amtrak trains, as well as airfare.
5X points per dollar on purchases through the bank’s travel portal: If you book your flight through Chase Travel(SM), the bank’s travel portal, you’ll earn at this higher rate. Just do your homework first and compare the price if you bought directly from the airline.
3X points per dollar on dining at restaurants takeout, and eligible delivery services: Who doesn’t like to eat?
3X points per dollar on online grocery stores (excluding Target, Wal-Mart and wholesale clubs): This could be a great card to use if you ever order groceries online through services like Instacart or FreshDIrect.
3X points per dollar on streaming services: This could be a great card to put your monthly Netflix or Disney+ subscription on.
1X points per dollar on all other purchases.

Plus, on each card anniversary, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card awards you extra bonus points. You’ll receive an anniversary bonus equal to 10% of the total amount you spent last year. So, if you spent $10,000 on purchases, you’d get 1,000-anniversary bonus points.

Get airfare deals for your points and miles with Going

Welcome offers

Both cards come with welcome offers granting you thousands of flexible travel points after spending a certain amount. Their offers are:

Capital One Venture Rewards Card

bonus_miles_full

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

bonus_miles_full

I’d argue that the welcome offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is more valuable because of where you can transfer its points. I’ll explain more below.

Transfer partners

The best way to maximize the value of your credit card points is to transfer them to the bank's airline and hotel partners. Called “transfer partners” or “travel partners,” you convert your hard-earned credit card points into miles with a specific airline.

Both the card_name and the card_name transfer to a lot of the same international airlines. Common transfer partners with each include:

Chase and Capital One airline transfer partners

Air Canada Aeroplan

British Airways Executive Club

Emirates Skyward

Flying Blue (loyalty program for Air France and KLM)

Singapore Airlines

Virgin Atlantic (also called Virgin Red)

Capital One Venture Rewards Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards card also has Avianca LifeMiles and Turkish Miles&Smiles among its transfer partners. We have sent several Going with Points deals making use of these airline partners.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

However, I think it is Chase Sapphire Preferred’s travel partners where the card really shines. In addition to the partners listed above, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has several US domestic airlines as partners including, United MileagePlus, Southwest Airlines, and JetBlue.

In addition, Iberia airlines is another airline partner, which can be a great way to fly business class to Europe for a reasonable amount of miles. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card also transfers to Hyatt hotels, which is a favorite of point and miles enthusiasts.

To be perfectly honest with you, the breadth of transfer partners for a relatively low annual fee is why the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is my favorite card in my wallet.

Unique transfer partners by issuer

Chase

Capital One

Iberia

JetBlue

Southwest Airlines

United MileagePlus

Aeromexico

Avianca LifeMiles

Cathay Pacific

Eithad Guest

EVA Air

Finnair

Qantas

TAP Air Portugal

Turkish Miles&Smiles

Extra card perks and protections

Capital One Venture Rewards Card

One of the great things about the Capital One Venture Rewards card is that it offers a statement credit for an application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

You can use this application credit once every four years. And, if you already have it you could use this card’s credit for a loved one’s application.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card doesn’t have the Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit, but it is one of our top picks for credit cards with rental car insurance because it comes with Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver.

While many travel credit cards offer secondary rental car insurance coverage, this card provides primary coverage on car rentals, which means you would not need to file a claim with your personal auto insurance. So, if you used this card to pay for your rental car, you could potentially decline the rental company’s collision insurance and save on your costs.

This is the full list of travel protections that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offers:

Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance: Up to $10,000 reimbursed per person if your trip is cancelled or cut short by sickness, severe weather or other covered situations.
Auto rental collision damage waiver: Primary coverage
Baggage delay insurance: Reimburses baggage delays over 6 hours up to $100 a day for five days.
Trip delay insurance: Up to $500 per ticket when your carrier is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay. Can include meal and lodging expenses.

Should you get the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Capital One Venture Rewards Card?

For most people, the card_name is the better option, simply because Chase points are more valuable than Capital One Miles (their term for points). While the Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit is tempting, I think most casual travelers are better off with the travel protections that the Chase Sapphire Preferred provides. You could always get Global Entry or TSA PreCheck through another card that compliments its bonus categories.

Still, if you’d rather not track categories, and just want to earn a flat 2X points per dollar, then the card_name might be the better option for you.

Of course, there’s no reason why you can’t have both. They complement each other and allow you to earn more points together.

Still need to think about it? Read our reviews of each card to help you decide.